The Owniwanbashu are a group of talented Ninjas that were stationed at Edo castle during the Bakumatsu. Aoshi was appointed leader of the group at only fifteen and was the youngest ever to obtain that status. Aoshi left Aoyia, which is the Kyoto hideout of the group in search of Battousai to kill him and claim the title of strongest for the group. It seems as if the Owniwanbashu has always sided with the evil guys. The orginal group the Tokyo Group (Beshimi, Shiki-jou, Hyottoko and Hanya) followed Aoshi and ended up siding with Kanryu while the rest of the group the Kyoto Group (Okina, Misao, Okon, Omasu, Kuro and Shiro) stayed at the Aoyia. In the end the alliance with Kanryu cost Aoshi to lose the group with him and began to send him down a path that would end with him joining Shishio and fighting and nearly killing Okina. In the end it all comes out okay after Aoshi is given time to think about everything. The big question is: Does he EVER smile?